Updates, play-calling analysis from Florida’s 38-14 win over USF

The Gators haven’t solved all their offensive problems yet, but they seem to be getting closer after riding their run game to a 38-14 win over South Florida.

Can Florida keep this up? Don’t know.
Here’s a look at some notes and nerdy analysis that did not make it into the Saturday and Sunday coverage:

— The offense had three drives of 50-plus yards out of seven opportunities. One of those was a three-play possession that ended in Demps’ 62-yard touchdown run. The other two, which resulted in a missed field goal and a John Brantley touchdown pass to Jordan Reed, might be indicative of how Florida plans to run its offense going forward. Here’s how they looked:

— Here’s the play-calling on first down: 16 run, 14 pass. Prior to taking a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Florida passed 12 times and ran 11.

“We were very high percentage last week on run on first down and pass on second down or pass on third down,” coach Urban Meyer said. “This week we really tried to switch that and threw a lot more on first down this week. We also mixed in some run on third down.”

— The Gators’ average first-down gain was 4.5 yards. That’s up from 4.2 in Week 1.

— Seven first downs resulted in first downs, including one on a USF personal foul against Trey Burton, compared to just one against Miami (Ohio). Four of Florida’s first-down plays came inside USF’s 10-yard line, and another ended the game. The remaining 18 first-down plays left the Gators with an average second-down distance of 8.8 yards to go. That’s nearly a yard worse than in Week 1.

— Reed made a big block downfield to keep Demps alive on that 62-yarder.

— DE Justin Trattou made a savvy move to trick USF QB B.J. Daniels into an ill-advised pass. Trattou intercepted it and returned it for a 35-yard touchdown. Here’s how he did it: “I was actually a dropper on that play and I saw he was breaking a whole bunch of tackles so I came up to contain him again and then as soon as I faked to contain up, I dropped back again and I think he was trying to throw it over my head. It ended up going right to me and I took it to the house.”

— One thing Meyer mentioned in the post-game press conference was Florida’s increased use of the draw. “We added the draw play this week and that came out the gate a bunch for us,” he said. Need to watch the DVR to get exact stats on that, but the Gators used it at least twice on their final scoring drive. Demps got 9 yards on one and Moody got 6 on another.

— Florida’s offensive production was once again inflated by its defense and special teams. Set aside the 88-yard drive that ended on Demps’ long touchdown run. The other four scoring drives spanned just 39 yards on average.

–The Gators had five possessions beginning at their own 40 or better and scored on four of them: three touchdowns and a field goal. The previous week they scored on three of eight.

— Overall, Florida’s average starting field position was its own 33-yard line. That’s 16 yards behind where the Gators started against Miami.

— Part of Meyer’s Plan to Win is scoring in the red zone. Trouble is, you have to actually reach the red zone to score there. Gators’ first red zone trip happened in the final minute of the second quarter. The second half was much better. Overall, Florida was successful on all four opportunities to the red zone and came away with 24 points from those chances. In the opener, the Gators had 21 points on five trips.

– Florida was efficient in the red zone, averaging 3.9 yards per play. In a short field, that gets the job done. The Gators called eight runs (4.5 yards per carry) and five passes (3/5, 15 yards, two touchdowns). Only three plays resulted in zero or lost yardage. Six plays picked up at least four yards.

— Moody was the man in the red zone. He got the ball six times and gained 24 yards. He didn’t score, but he set up the Gillislee and Reed touchdowns. Demps had one red zone carry for 8 yards and Gillislee had one for a 4-yard touchdown.

— The Gators converted 5 of 13 third downs. It’s better than last week’s 3 for 12, but well below their 2009 conversion rate (49.2 percent). Florida currently is at 32 percent for the season, 93rd in the nation.

— The Gators average distance to go on third down was 5.9 yards, far better than the 11.1 they were staring at on third downs in Week 1.

— Florida needed to gain 6 yards or fewer on 9 of 13 third-downs. Having more manageable distances on third downs allowed the Gators to vary their play-calling more so than in Week 1 when they passed on every third down. Against USF, Florida called 10 passes and three runs.

— Two third downs were wasted: Brantley fumbled a snap, which he managed to recover and throw away for an incompletion, and mistakenly threw to an ineligible Mike Pouncey in the flats. Here is the distribution of his other eight third-down throws: Deonte Thompson (3/4 complete, 18 yards, 2/4 converted), Omarius Hines (2/2 complete, 6 yards, 0/2 converted), Robert Clark (0/1, 0 yards), Reed (1/1 complete), 2 yards, 1/1 converted).

— The two running conversions were both by Demps. On 3rd-and-1, he ran for 26. On 3rd-and-6, he ran for 8.

— The Gators were 2 for 2 on fourth downs. On 4th-and-3 in the second quarter, Brantley hit Carl Moore for 5 yards. On 4th-and-3 in the fourth quarter, Moody ran to the right for 5 yards.

— Florida’s offense did not score for the first 29:16. That is the third scoreless drought of at least 17 minutes this season.

— The Gators won time of possession over USF, 31:55 to 28:05. In Week 1, Florida held the ball just 42 percent of the game.

— Chaz Henry punted four times for an average of 43.5 yards per attempt and stuck USF inside its own 20 twice.

— Injury updates: CB Jeremy Brown left with what Meyer called a “full-body cramp,” and if that’s the case, he’ll be back for the Tennessee game.

The SEC Network reported a concussion for SL Chris Rainey during its broadcast. Meyer said Saturday he was unsure of the injury but sure Rainey will play against Tennessee.

— Meyer praised USF as an SEC-caliber team all week. After the game, he still believed it, but noted that the Bulls have a precipitous drop-off after their first-string.

— Red-shirt freshman Andre Debose made his debut at wide receiver. Brantley threw to him twice, but was incomplete both times.

— Freshman WRs Chris Dunkley and Quinton Dunbar did not play for the second straight week, but Meyer reiterated that both are close to being ready and the team needs them this year.

— Meyer praised his offensive line for helping Florida pound the run, but also for keeping Brantley safe. “We only gave up one sack and they were blitzing their tails off,” he said. “I think our offensive line won that game for us.” Brantley threw 31 times.

— USF converted all four of its third-down plays in the first quarter, but made good on just 1 of 8 the rest of the game.

— Xavier Nixon, who started the last five games of 2009 at left tackle, saw his first action since having pre-season arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He played tackle and tight end.

— No team has more interceptions than Florida’s eight. “Eight in two weeks? That’s a heck of a deal,” Meyer said. Next closest is Missouri with six. No SEC team has more than four.

— Why did FS Will Hill, DE Dominique Easley, LB Dee Finley and WR Frankie Hammond sit? “Weren’t ready to play. My anticipation is they’ll be ready to play next week,” Meyer said. That’s two weeks in a row for Hill.

— Thompson had a drop in the first quarter, second straight week, that nearly resulted in an interception, but did not let it affect him. “It don’t get to me,” he said. “I’m into the game. I feel like I played a pretty good game.” He caught six passes for 83 yards, both career-highs.

— SL Robert Clark made his first catch as a Gator, grabbing a 15-yard pass coming across the middle from left to right.

— SS Matt Elam made an incredibly athletic play to sway a pass in the end zone, but Jeremy Brown wiped it out when he was flagged for pass interference.

— DE Duke Lemmens was much better against USF than he was against Miami, when he had an assist on one tackle and did little else. In Week 2, he had two tackles, one of which was for a 3-yard loss, and recovered a fumble.

“In the first game, I was a little disappointed in myself,” he said. “I’ve got high expectations. I know that there’s big shoes to fill, but I do what I always do. I came out this week and worked my tail off. I think it really paid off.

“I think I was playing a little less nervous. Last week I felt like if I wasn’t making a play every play, I was failing. You’ve just got to do your job and that’s what happened this week.”

— Ahmad Black is the team’s leading tackler, interceptor and Twitterer. If you go to your fridge in the middle of the night for a cold slice of leftover pizza, take a flashlight and check around the corner for Ahmad Black. In two games he has three picks and 20 tackles.

— The fans cheered sarcastically when Pouncey successfully completed his first snap to Brantley. Funny. “I was happy they’re still behind us,” Brantley said, half-joking. “We have the best fans in the world really. To see they have our backs is all that matters.”